Summary Report on COVID-19 General Grants support in Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
15 December 2020
The following reports share a summary of the work that the Methodist Church Nigeria and the Methodist Church Sierra Leone, have undertaken to support communities through the COVID-19 pandemic. This work has been supported with General Grants from the World Mission Fund.
These grants were given alongside the continuing Emergency Coronavirus Appeal from All We Can and the Methodist Church in Britain from which a livelihoods recovery programme to support those affected by the economic effects of the lockdown in Sierra Leone is being funded.
Nigeria – Methodist Church Nigeria (£20,000) Personal Protective Equipment
Methodist Church Nigeria owns about eighteen hospitals and clinics including Social Institutions across the Country. All of the centres are located in the rural areas of the country where there is no government presence and so this fund was highly appreciated.
Six of the hospitals where the equipment was really needed were selected. These were the centres attending to both in patients and out patients regularly every day, where the virus could easily be contacted by front line workers.
Where MCN were able to provide the needed equipment, none of the medical and non-medical staff in all the hospitals contracted the virus and MCN give thanks to God for this and for the early intervention through the fund. Only one of the hospitals in the Eastern part of the country received further support through the donation of hand sanitizers from the State Government.
In addition to the medical personal protection equipment purchased and shared to the six hospitals, MCN also ensured that each hospital supplied fabric masks to all non-medical staff working in the hospital to protect themselves and others. MCN also supplied disinfectants and all essential medical aids necessary for protection.
“We are happy that through the funds received we were able to reduce the spread of the virus in our communities. Throughout Nigeria the number of deaths through the virus has been minimal compared to other parts of the World.”
Link to full report on the MCN page
Sierra Leone - Methodist Church Sierra Leone (£8,365) Food packages and PPE
Phase 1: MCSL distributed Personal Protective Equipment to a total of 125 Ministers within the connection in July 2020. It also broadcast some radio programmes to raise awareness and understanding of COVID-19.
Phase 2: MCSL made distributions to 185 beneficiaries within the connection in August 2020 – societies, schools and clinic within the connection were provided with PPE items and Ministers and catechist/Lay Pastors within the connection were provided with food items supplements (rice, sugar, Ovaltine, coffee, tea leaf, milk, salt, magi cubes, vegetable oil, tomato paste and onions).
185 communities (Societies, Schools and Clinic) benefited from the PPE Items, while there were 135 direct beneficiaries/families with a family having an average of six (6) people hence a total of 810 people benefited from the food item relief support.
(Photo shows the Chairman of Bo / Kenema District receiving PPE Items for Ministers within his district)
MCSL expressed thanks to British and Irish Methodist Church Partners and All We Can, as well as members within MCSL
“We herewith expressed our thanks to the Methodist Church in Britain and our partners for the continued financial support that made this intervention possible despite the difficult times of COVID-19 crisis globally. The relief items reached the most vulnerable people within our connection – societies, circuits and districts. We continue to pray and hope that Almighty God heals the world of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and may God bless all our contributors abundantly.”